jhw5035
New Member
I'm having an intermittent issues with the Starboard gauges and center shared gauge on my 2005 280 Sundancer with twin 4.3 MPI's. I was anchored for the day on Saturday. I was running the generator (runs on the same battery as the stbd engine) and it started just fine multiple times. I ran the AC and battery charger for a decent period of time ~2 hours total. I eventually went to leave and started the port engine first and noticed that my center smartcraft speedometer didn't come on. I went to start the stbd engine and the accessory position did nothing other than the standard engine alarm tone. Attempting to start the engine resulted in a click at the starter solenoid but the engine didn't crank. Will smartcraft engines start without connection to a gauge cluster? I attempted to run the generator to charge the battery thinking that maybe it was low, but that didn't make a difference. Checking the voltage on that battery showed it wasn't low. I ended up puttering back to the marina on the port engine. Partway back the center gauge started to flicker then eventually it stayed on. The stbd engine would also flicker when the accessory was turned on, but never stayed on. The flickering continued until I was back in the slip, at which point I shut the port engine off and tried the stbd engine and it worked - gauges and all. I spent hours the other day trying to replicate the issue to I could troubleshoot it but no luck. Anyone have suggestions? Would this be a connection issue at one of the smartcraft junction boxes? What controls the power the the gauges? Is there any crossover between port and stbd batteries? Does the aft EIM select the power source? I fear I won't be able to troubleshoot it until I'm left stranded again.
Another thing worth mentioning: I had this gauge/power issue a week ago as well. I launched my boat for the season, plugged in at the dock and everything seemed normal. I wasn't able to use it for about 3 weeks and I came back to find my boat had a "reverse polarity" alarm. There's an issue with my pedistal and that part is being sorted by the marina. I did notice that both my port batteries were both completely drained (7.5V each) and the left control pad had blower and bilge pump illuminated (not left that way) and the blower breaker was tripped on the aft EIM. Initially I was able to start the stbd engine, but the gauges started acting weird at some point after messing with the port engine. I would turn the stbd engine to accessory and everything worked until I went to start the engine. At that point the gauges died and the engine wouldn't crank. The stbd battery was still decently charged - 12.5V. Assuming it was just low voltage all around, I removed the batteries, charged them back up and reinstalled them, but the gauges on the stbd side still didn't work. I resolved the issue by unplugging the center gauge and plugging it back in. That solution didn't work on Saturday. Any input would be appreciated.
Another thing worth mentioning: I had this gauge/power issue a week ago as well. I launched my boat for the season, plugged in at the dock and everything seemed normal. I wasn't able to use it for about 3 weeks and I came back to find my boat had a "reverse polarity" alarm. There's an issue with my pedistal and that part is being sorted by the marina. I did notice that both my port batteries were both completely drained (7.5V each) and the left control pad had blower and bilge pump illuminated (not left that way) and the blower breaker was tripped on the aft EIM. Initially I was able to start the stbd engine, but the gauges started acting weird at some point after messing with the port engine. I would turn the stbd engine to accessory and everything worked until I went to start the engine. At that point the gauges died and the engine wouldn't crank. The stbd battery was still decently charged - 12.5V. Assuming it was just low voltage all around, I removed the batteries, charged them back up and reinstalled them, but the gauges on the stbd side still didn't work. I resolved the issue by unplugging the center gauge and plugging it back in. That solution didn't work on Saturday. Any input would be appreciated.